De Montfort University (DMU), Foundation Certificate, "Art and Design Pathway"

Modules

Portfolio Preparation and Major Project
This module runs through the three terms (30 weeks) of the International Foundation Certificate programme. You will learn the importance of a portfolio of work that can demonstrate your range of skills such as drawing, painting, design and model-making along with your ability to record, reflect on and evaluate your work. Alongside this wide-ranging task, you will select a major project related to your degree choice and produce a piece of work to be the centrepiece of your end of course exhibition.

Researching and Recording Art Context and Cultural Awareness
This module aims to give you an ongoing understanding of contemporary, historical and cultural influences which will inspire and inform your own practice. What you experience will support you in choosing the pathway you wish to follow on your undergraduate degree programme. There will be visits to local and national museums and art galleries and you will compile a contextual log book which forms a major part of the assessment. A reflective notebook of processes and techniques encountered helps develop your understanding and positions your own work in a contemporary context.

2D and 3D Process
This module is designed to introduce you to a wide range of craft skills in a workshop setting; for example, wood and metal work, plaster, print and photography as well as, in information technology, the use of Photoshop, Illustrator and Powerpoint. You will have a full health and safety induction into specific workshop environments and will also be introduced to on-line resources. You can keep log books of your experiences and develop your ideas through sketch books and design sheets, creating a portfolio relating to one specialist skill. 

Researching and Recording Digital Arts
This module introduces you to digital arts as they are studied and experienced at the University.  You will be introduced to using Apple Macs to process animation and photography as you build your own digital portfolio. Using computers and related software you will explore your own ideas via lens-based media. You will be encouraged to explore the potential of the digital arts to produce more experimental approaches within your own work and portfolio. At the end of the module you will have an exciting range of up-to-date tools and skills to use in your undergraduate studies.